The Usual Thanks

Sarah Muir
MSM Class of 2018

(11/2016) The seasons have come and gone and I am here typing my Thanksgiving thanks to the usual lot, my family. This year it feels as though I have so much more to be thankful for. My magnificent sister is happily married to a wonderful man, my parents are in relative good health, and my own schooling is going as decent as it can be. I am especially thankful for the fall break the students here at Mount St. Mary’s have just finished. I think I speak for everyone that vacations are something for which to be thankful. Whether they be three months long, two weeks long, or a three day weekend, they are blessed occasions to relax and enjoy having nothing to do. They also seem to come at the most opportune moments.

Apart from the odd few days we would spend in Ocean City every now and then, my family and I mostly stick close to home on the now rare occasions we all have a vacation at the same time. This year, my family, (except for my sister, who is a teacher, and therefore didn't have the same break we did), traveled a bit farther away than Maryland. After a 16 hour drive south, during which there was a surprisingly few amount of incidents, we arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana. I was there once before for three days, but that was too short to enjoy everything the French Quarter had to offer. I was thrilled to be with my family for several days without work or school work getting in the way.

The most enjoyable experience was going to a Sunday Mass at the oldest cathedral in America, St. Louis King of France. It was rebuilt in 1794 after the first major fire in 1788 razed it to the ground. However, its origins date back as far as 1727. It is truly a beautiful cathedral with frescoes, vaulted arches, gilded alter – the whole nine yards.

While we were there, we saw some family members that we haven't seen for ages. We don't see them often, and I still love them deeply. We used to see them all the time growing up and while not related to them by blood, I still consider them to be family. There is a saying, I'm sure you've heard, that blood is thicker than water. However, it has always been belief that family is more than just blood, it is bond.

With the holiday of Thanksgiving right around the corner, we are faced with an influx of relatives from all the corners of our lives. However, we are usually so busy running around we don't realize that we should be cherishing the moments we have with those we love while we have them close by and before they are scattered to the far corners of the world.

I find that Thanksgiving is often time overlooked, being in between Halloween and the much anticipated Christmas, and I think we forget that it’s not about eating so much stuffing, turkey, and pie that you can barely move. Thanksgiving is about remembering all of the good. In today’s world, I think we have trouble recognizing it because we feel as though the little good things are overshadowed by the enormity of the bad things we see all the time, whether in the news or in our own lives. However, the good in the world shines through even if we refuse to acknowledge it. Find the small things in your life that make you smile and prove that the world still remains beautiful even if there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary. After you have found it, thank God (or the Universe, if it so pleases you) for the ability to see this light. For me, this "good" has been my family; those of both blood and bond. I have always felt and always will feel enormous gratitude towards God for my family and, this Thanksgiving, I will try to remember all the good that is still in the world and be thankful for every little bit of it.

Read other articles by Sarah Muir